challenges

I was sick for a long time it seemed. I had a nasty cold for at least two weeks. Usually I can avoid getting sick, but this one knocked me hard. I even tried to go for a run, but that had the opposite effect and hurt me more.

So, what was supposed to be an awesome stay-at-home vacation to run, study for my PT Cert renewal exam turned into more of a recovery time. But I’m feeling better now and ready to end this year.

2017 didn’t turn out to be the year I had planned. But I did survive. And I learned. The biggest lesson I learned is that the road to following one’s dream is longer and filled with more rocks than I ever imagined. But I’m still on it.

So, I’m ready to start 2018 with a rested, renewed energy I haven’t had in a long long time!

I’ve lacked inspiration and motivation lately. In the past, just running and looking forward to races was enough, but after my last injury it seems to not be any longer. Maybe it’s because I’m not doing as many races now or it could be something else, but I decided to look for a unique and fun challenge; one that I could also share on my blog. And I found it!

San Francisco is a city of hills. There are tons of them here. There are 47 known ones, according to this website I discovered: www.47hills.com

So after scoping all these hills, I’m going to run up every one of them. This will take at least 47 weeks, maybe sooner if I get through them at a quicker pace. But it’s not about speed. It’s about enjoying the hills, the scenery if there is any, and looking up any history that goes along with it.

Disclaimer:All my information about each hill’s height, etc, comes from the aforementioned website. So, if an error is made, take it up with them.

This is merely for fun, not for any historical significance or discoveries.

So, without further waiting, I give you:

#47: Rincon Hill

map of the Rincon Hill area

At a mere 100 feet, Rincon is barely worth mentioning height-wise, but it’s pretty important in the history of San Francisco. Rincon means inside corner in Spanish and before the 1906 earthquake, it was a very important neighborhood. In the 1805s, rich settlers built their homes here. The views were unparalleled. But with the quick development of the city, many hills with flattened, larger buildings were built and the views disappeared. The mansions were sold, torn down and the rich settled elsewhere.

The foot of Rincon Hill on Harrison near 3rd St

Once again it’s home to wealthy transplants, buying highrise condos among the weaving freeways. I love running in this area on weekends. Clogged with traffic during the week, it’s calm and quiet on weekend mornings. The construction is growing so fast I see something new every time I pass by.

The top of Rincon Hill is on the property of an expensive highrise condo

The hill isn’t hard to tackle either walking or running from either side and it’s a nice addition for any distance.

It’s a big thing now for running and fitness groups to set up challenges, especially at the start of the new year. It’s been a growing trend. A lot of people love these. I’ve joined a few myself in the past. They were fun, because I was able to help set up the guidelines and rules about the challenges.

But the new ones I’m seeing are more and more extreme. “Run 2015 miles in 2015” “Run 100 miles a month!” “Run 3 miles or Walk 3 miles or bike 3 miles every day!”..and more.

I understand that there are very good intentions behind these challenges. We all want to get in better shape and feel better. But, not everyone can do what everyone else can do. We all achieve our goals at different paces. And each of us have different levels of goals. There is no One Size Fits All. And these unfortunately make it seem as if everyone should do the same thing.

Add to that the appearance of competition and people feel badly if they’re not doing as much as someone else. I don’t mean to sound so politically correct, but running shouldn’t be keeping up with the Jones’, it should be a sport where one challenges oneself, not a group of other people.

I haven’t even mentioned the whole Rest Day. Many people who dive head first into these challenges don’t like rest days and don’t take them. It’s not a surprise that injuries happen. A runner’s rest day is JUST AS IMPORTANT as a running day. I truly wish runners wouldn’t look at a rest day with dismay. Enjoy your rest day. Indulge if you like, but realize that without a rest day, no muscle growth, and your chance of injury multiplies.

There are those runners who are “Streak Runners” – meaning they run without taking breaks in between. It’s not something I would ever do, or even think it’s a good thing to do, but a few people are okay doing that, the rest of us are more likely to get hurt, fatigued or sick. It’s better to slow down, take a day or two off and enjoy giving your body the rest it deserves.

And if you send me a request for yet another challenge, please don’t take it personally if I say “No thank you.”